The Forgotten Memory
by Twisted Skys
Summary: There are a million ways to tell a story, a million ways events might unfold. I've seen a queen die, a baron be overthrown, the death of a great city, and the rise of an even greater warrior. This may not be the story you know, but it is the life I lived
1. Chapter 1

_**The Forgotten Memory Saga  
**_**The Hidden Library  
****Chapter 1**

The wastelander pushed herself to move faster, determined to get away. Her boots kicked up dust as she went, her scarf billowing out behind her. Other wastelanders traversing the streets jumped out of her path to allow her to pass.

Behind her, two dog like creatures loped after her, growling in their continued failure to capture the fleeing girl. Their long bodies were covered in fur; one black, and the other silver. They lacked the metal limbs and helmets that gave many of their kind their derogative term. These were Hora Quan. The skull gems in their chest glowed brilliantly, brighter than average sickly yellow, but still unmistakable in nature.

Desert Clan Hora Quan, un-poisoned by the effects of dark eco. By now, the people of Spargus had grown used to seeing this duo loping through the streets, for it was a common occurrence. The Desert Clan was allies with Spargus, thanks to the current queen, and the close relationship with the princess.

The fourteen year old girl was hardly a princess by Haven standard. She was rough, and worked just as hard as the common man at keeping her city safe. She was not protected by walls or men, but by her own skill and power; and she would not stand for the protection either way.

She still remembered the fuzzy years of young childhood, before Praxis over-threw her family, when she had been pampered in such a way. Her mother insisted she not have that treatment, and when she no longer had it after the fall of Mar in Haven, she was glad.

She could hear the heavy panting of the metal heads behind her, and she was forced to recognize her own exhaustion. She considered turning to face them, so she could stop running, but her quick mind had already formulated a plan. She forced herself further, faster.

She brought her right arm closer to her, so she could see the flat side of the armor brace on her arm, where a circular device was melded into the metal. She pushed the large button on it once, before she returned her attention to the street in front of her as it got rockier.

She leapt up an incline in the rock, scrambling up to the flatter surface. She knew better than to take the hard route, as the two metal heads were larger and could easier get over the obstacles. But it slowed them down to have to go through a narrow passage. The girl was forced to slide sideways to get through the passage. Out of the corner of her eye she saw the two try to ram into the opening at the same time, then bicker in their own language on who should be allowed to go first.

By the time the silver female had finally broken through the opening, her flanks brushing the walls, Zara had dropped from the opening and was a good couple of yards away. The distraction would not give her time, but distance. She knew she would need it as she veered off again to go through another crack between buildings.

Soon she had given herself enough room to be a little more comfortable, but still didn't dare stop running. She ran up a hill, watching the doors to the car port opening. She felt her endurance coming to its end and knew she had to rest soon, or lose the game.

The car port had two twin towers that rose up from the walls, and crowned at the top, creating effective look out posts. The spiral staircase that lead up to the tops broke off on the right one, to include a ledge of sorts. She climbed up the stairs, skipping three at a time, her legs aching as she reached the top.

She stumbled to the machine that sat alone on the ledge, a soft purring noise coming up from the hull, the only clue as to what the bird shaped machine was on. It was off white, the color of desert clouds, not much bigger than a man, but powerful enough to lift a small one easily. A hole, oval shaped and a little less than a foot across exposed the soft blue glow of the idle thruster.

Zara didn't dare stop her stride as she hopped up and pushed down a lever just left of the leather strap meant to steer the thing in the air.

With a goat of bright blue flames, the thing took off into the air, leaving the two metal heads gawking on the platform.

A laugh bubbled up from the girl's throat as she circled them. She waved, then pulled on her goggles and pulled up the scarf to cover her eyes. She directed the glider up, knowing the two would follow her.

And follow they did, the wings on their back's easily lifting them into the air and up into the atmosphere. The pilot laughed as they caught up to her, flapping the massive appendages desperately. The dark male made a warning noise to his sister as he fell back and the girl pulled the glider up to slow down.

The two metal heads gratefully slowed their pace to match hers and rose up on an updraft. Zara followed them up as the female, Kitala, directed the trio to the volcano in the center of the desert.

It did not take them long to reach the mountain, which the siblings used the hot air in the volcano to keep aloft as the pilot waved to her friends and took off again into the desert sky. She left them, and rose up into the high, near waterless clouds, out of sight of any threats on the ground.

The girl circled the sky, enjoying the peace of the upper atmospheres. Down below her was her city, and all the problems that went along with it. Although the marauders had been quiet as of late, it did not mean they had left. They were most likely regrouping their numbers for more petty assaults on the Spargan fleet. That was their biggest concern, competition in an already sparse desert.

It all made the girl glad she didn't have to rule yet, and had many years yet to be a simple child. Besides the marauders, there was also the metal cities of Haven, Kras and Hitt. Although Kras wasn't much of a nuisance, being too far north to care for the dealings of a desert city and her corrupted sister. Hitt city never cared for the desert, thankfully, but had a rabid hate for Haven that was only quelled by their mutual hate for metal heads. Hitt city was farther south, on the small island just south of Haven. If Haven city dies, Hitt would be the next metal head hotspot, and they all knew it.

Haven City was Spargus' closest neighbor, and many of the citizens of Spargus where refugees and castouts. It made them paranoid as to the dealing of Mar's old city.

Zara knew from the countless flybys by their gliders, and the intelligence gathered by their spies that Haven was running out of eco, and fast. Damas feared that they would start looking to the wasteland for supplies, bringing their troops much too close for comfort.

The sound of her communicator buzzing in her ear brought her to the present. Ground and sky communication was not possible between glider and car, thanks to the riotous winds and lack of communication towers. So the only ones who could directly connect to her communicator in the air was either a high powered radio connection, similar to the ones that Haven and the monk temple had, or the central tower in the city. She put a finger to the button on the side of her head, activating the communication.

"_Respond,_" came a fuzzy voice.

"Lordess Mar, responding," the girl answered firmly.

The connection garbled before becoming clear as the signal was latched onto from the central tower. The voice from inside suddenly became much clearer, making it obviously Sig who hailed her. _"Cherry Pit, you there?"_ He asked again.

"Yeah, Sig."

_"I need you to come back to the palace, pronto. I need ta talk to ya."_

"Yes, captain." She made a mock salute, knowing he wouldn't see but he would know she did it. The connection was cut quickly, as it was dangerous to distract a pilot for too long. She pulled up into the clouds further, turning her glider around swiftly toward Spargus.

**/-/-/**

The creaky gears ground to a stop at the top of the shaft, and the princess hopped out. Dusty and dark brown from both sand and sun, Sig could tell she had just come in from the desert.

He smiled at her, not being able to help himself. "Find anythin', Cherry Pit?"

She shook her head. "Just an escort mission, no time for any hunting." She smiled nonetheless, her blue eyes bright. "What'd you want to talk about?" She asked cheerfully.

Just then, a loud bark came from the curtained hallway behind the King's thrown, followed by the soft sound of bare feet. ChumChum came bounding out from behind the chair, followed closely by Mar, and proceeded to run across the throne room, under Sig's legs, and jumping up as he reached Zara. The girl caught him with practiced ease and the crocadog made himself at home in her arms. The little boy that had chased after him, watched him as he took refuge with his older sibling, and began to pout.

Zara laughed and set ChumChum back on the sandstone. The boy's blue eyes lit up and he resumed his chase of the chubby little dog. Zara watched them as they twined around and around the throne room, the dog yipping every time Mar seem to be just about to catch him, and Mar shouting out nonsensical noises when the dog moved just out of his reach.

Mar had never talked in his two years, but Salina, the queen of Spargus insisted that he would when he was ready. Just give him time, for he is in no hurry.

The two older wastelanders watched the antics of the child and his dog for a long time, before Sig cleared his throat a little awkwardly, bringing back attention to himself. The girl looked at him, a gentle smile on her lips and silently asked him to continue.

"Zara," he began, and the girl's stomach dropped. She knew that tone, and he said her name, not her pet name.

"What's going on?" She silently cursed her own voice for cracking, and how defensive she sounded.

"Zara," he said again, this time sounding he was trying to calm a frightened animal. The heiress hated it. "Your father and I have been talking." He began slowly. The girl, for some reason beyond her, did not like where this was going. "And we've decided that I need to get back to my other duties."

"Other duties?" She repeated, accusingly. "What other duties."

"The duties to my king, your father."

"I know who my father is," she snapped. "Get to the point."

Sig sighed, he knew she was quick to anger, just like her father. "Haven is getting to frisky for our liking." He sighed heavily, looking out the giant window into the city. "He needs someone with knowledge of the black market to go in and see what the underside looks like."

"What does this have to do with anything?" She demanded. She knew exactly, but she refused to believe it until he said it himself.

He looked back over at her thoughtfully. "He's asked me to go. I know a few connections from my time in Haven, and might be able to get some more valuable information on these Underground people."

"Who cares for that stupid city? They owe-"

"It's not about owing anybody anything," Sig retorted. "It's about the safety of you and your people, Zara." The gentle tone he'd been using had all but vanished. If she was going to be hostile, so was he.

"Then send someone else, we'll be safer with you here in Spargus, doing what you've always done, guarding Mar and me." She took a different approach, latching onto his forearm and attempted to look weak and pathetic. To anyone else, it would have worked, but Sig knew her too well.

He shook her off physically, despite the reproachful glare it earned him. "I'm sorry, Cherry Pit, but I have to do what I have to do. No questions asked."

"I have the right to ask questions!" She yelled, not noticing Mar had stopped his game and was watching her. "I have even the right to answer them."

"This doesn't involve you."

She baulked. "It does if you're leaving!"

"Zara," he said quietly in return, trying to calm her down. "You have always had amazing strength in the face of danger. I need this to be no different. I need you to be strong." He looked at her, his artificial eye lens focusing in and out on her face. "For Mar, and for me."

This stopped the girl before she could retort and she simply looked back at him. She opened her mouth to say something but it seemed she had forgotten what she wanted to say. Rather abruptly, she tore herself away from him. Without a word she left the throne room, her boot falls fading down the hall.

Sig sighed heavily, as if under a huge burden, closing his good eye. He felt a light tugging on his the rim of his boots and looked down to find Mar staring up at him. The large wastelander couldn't resist the questioning eyes and he bent down to pick the small body.

"Don't worry," He said in reply to whatever unspoken question that the heir had posed. "I won't be gone forever."

**/-/-/**

What was so important about that stupid city anyway? The girl picked up a pillow off her bed and threw it across the room. It hit the wall with a dull _whump_ before falling down to collapse a stack of books with a flutter of pages and cloth. The second pillow was aimed at the window and soared out with little problem. Whether it landed at the base some hundred feet down, or was lost forever in the merciless waves, she honestly didn't care. She would just ask for another one.

That's how it had always been. Even though she made herself strive just like everyone else, the fact never left her that she could get anything she could ever want by just simply asking for it. But for some reason, she knew that it wouldn't be that simple.

But that was fine with her. Sig could go and get himself killed for all she cared. The third pillow landed just below the window sill.

She collapsed on the officially pillow-less bed, becoming silent, but refusing to cry. She wouldn't cave into this, she wasn't this weak, this childish.

She closed her eyes, trying to blank her tumultuous mind. The waves far below the tower, the ones that were probably tearing her pillow apart, crashed up against the side of the city, the retreated. An arid desert breeze blew in from the window, ticking the wind chimes that lined the ceiling. Their music was chaotic but beautiful, the mixture of wood, glass, and metals creating a cacophony of noise.

She suddenly sat up, an idea striking her. What was so important with that damned city?

**XXX**

_So I finally get to start posting this story. It's been about two years since I started writing this, and I'm glad I finally get to share it with everyone. I hope you enjoy. I'll be posting every Saturday, or at least trying to. Follow my twitter for updates and stuff. There's a link in my profile._


	2. Chapter 2

**The Forgotten Memory Saga  
**_**The Hidden Library  
**_**Chapter 2**

Compared to flights during the day, under the scorching sun, the nighttime flights were frigid. Especially over the ocean, where the water cooled the air much faster than the sand could.

Zara took her hand off the glider grip-handle to adjust her scarf to protect her face from the harsh winds that buffeted her. The water below her slipped past in a continuous sheen, only kicking up at her passing. The silver glow of Haven City had been sitting on the horizon for at least an hour, slowly become more recognizable.

But as it was becoming to be known as truly the city from her childhood, it was just as quickly corrupting the fuzzy memory of brilliant spires and beautiful lights. It was still beautiful, a sight to behold, but it felt cold and tainted. As she got closer, the palace came into sight, rising above the cowering city like a tyrant.

The datapad that sat trapped under her foot gave a loud complaint. She glanced down at it, seeing it very clearly depicting an electric detection field.

She banked upward sharply, remembering stories of people who had comrades that had made the mistake of ignoring this warning. Sure enough, as she climbed in altitude, a moving wave of red skimmed over the water. She let out a breath as it went under without any harm to her.

Detection fields had a tendency to emit solids walls of electricity. So as it was, she had heard stories of people knocked clean out of the air and into the bomb infested water. Haven had a love for nasty weapons. She also remembered stories and pictures of spike bombs that happen to infest Haven's water. Spike bombs were a nasty breed. They were the kind that imbedded themselves into the skin, then blew up.

Zara activated the glider's cloak once she was high up enough to not need to worry about the field, giving her glider the illusion of invisibility. She flew over the drill platform first. She had never actually been there in person, but had seen pictures of the giant drill and the rotating building. It seemed to not have changed much, except for the sheen of the eco shield surrounding the floating structure.

She took nothing else to note and moved on. Her face contorted with surprised when she found the electric wall had dropped off her radar. She lowered her glider back down, closer to the water, finding structures that poked out of the water, but ruined by war and weather.

But then the city rose up, the walls crumbling and falling. She gasped, pulling the glider to fly slowly forward, easily squeezing through a hole in the wall. She came upon what looked to be Old Sandover, but she couldn't recognize anything within the ruined little sector. Plumes of smoke still rose up from a few buildings, or at least what used to be buildings. All the windows were shattered, or dark. The landscape was grey, blank, lifeless.

She set down not far from the wall she had come in, powering down her glider and pulled her eco rifle from its holster. She hopped off, scanning the area from the vantage point on the roof. It more than just looked dead, but sounded and felt like it, too. Nothing moved; there was no noise. Death seemed to linger here; in every shadow and broken window.

It made the girl sick to her stomach. She wanted to leave this dark place. The moon through off shadows that looked too much like some distant nightmare she had no way of placing.

In this place of so little movement, anything could wake the dead. The sound of soft boot-falls alerted the wastelander, and she cocked her rifle down at the platform sidewalk that the red clad elf was walking on. Said elf, also hearing Zara's movements, cocked her own twin pistols and aimed them up at the shadow above her.

Ashelin cursed herself. Underground agents crawled these broken streets like rats, and she thought she would not find trouble. It was just a smuggling investigation, but the Underground had to get their funding from somewhere, and it certainly wasn't a legal source.

She figured rather quickly that the one above her, with all its ripped clothing and heavy looking rifle, was most likely a resistant fighter. They had a reputation amongst the guard for killing anything in red or had a gem in its head upon sight. Ashelin was a prime target.

So of course, the Havenite shot first. Her aim was dead on, but had to give the fighter credit for agility. They had ducked almost as fast as they had appeared. She cursed again. That gunshot would have alerted just about anything in the vicinity of their presence.

There was the distinct sound of metal tipped boots scrabbling across concrete, and Ashelin could hear the fighter running to the opposite side of the roof. She cursed for the third time. Let him go, or waste a little energy and have one less agent to deal with? If she didn't deal with him now, Ashelin knew it could come back and bite her in the ass.

She took a running leap up the wall, catching the low roof and pulling herself up with ease. She had not truly expected the agent to be as close to her as they were, and found she stared up the barrel of a double cannon eco rifle. Any other moment, and she would comment on the strangeness of the model, but she decided this was not the time.

She raised her pistols, shooting one into the leg of her attacker. The agent, which she now realized was a young woman, maybe even a girl, went down to one knee. The rifle went off, the glob of eco whistling past her face, burning her cheek and singing her red hair.

Ashelin recover from her shock at the close-call, remembering her father always telling her to keep a level head, even at the business end of the barrel. She smacked the rifle away, sending it clattering across the roof top, and rose to her feet. She aimed at the girl, her face covered by a scarf and goggles. She was clad in travelers clothing, Ashelin realized belatedly, so she was not an agent after all. Ashelin stopped when she spotted the Seal of Mar strapped defiantly to the brace on her forearm.

"State your name and purpose," Asheline demanded.

The Havenite allowed the girl to stand when she made the attempt, stepping back to allow her space. The girl stared at her through her goggles, favoring her left leg, but her stance still managed to emit pride and defiance.

"My name is Zara Setfan Mar, lower your weapon." There was a moment where the silence around then seemed to turn thick. Ashelin felt that she could cut the tension with a knife. This girl had to be lying. Zara was dead. The entire Mar family was dead. It was impossible.

"Take off your coverings." The Havenite demanded, still holding the girl at the end of her pistol. She could almost feel the smile on the girl's lips as she complied.

Ashelin let out a breath that she wasn't aware she had been holding. The face was unmistakable. The same eyes, the same flat nose, although it look like it had been broken since the last she seen her. The only difference was age, dirt, and few scares. "Zara?"

The girl grunted as she lowered herself onto her rump again, and put pressure on the wound. She hissed, and cursed. "You had to shoot me?"

Ashelin made a noise. "You were the pointing that weird-ass gun at me."

"And you weren't doing the exact same thing?" She replied sardonically.

Ashelin was thrown for a loop for a moment. This was Zara, her friend from so long ago, a friend she had thought was dead for years. And here she was. Older, tougher, but with the same brilliant blue eyes.

The Havenite sighed heavily, retrieving the girl's rifle and returning to her. She pulled out a roll of bandages and silently handed it to her. Zara worked silently at her boot buckles, getting to the bleeding flesh underneath, wrapping it with a practiced efficiency. It wasn't serious, but it was deep enough to stain the bandage as she wrapped it.

Once she was done, the Mar looked down at her stained gloves with a frown. "Dad's going to kill me when he finds out."

"Damas' alive?"

Zara looked up at her as if she had forgotten she was there. "Of course. How do you think I'm still here?"

"I don't, Zara, you've been gone for nine years. I thought your entire family was dead."

"Harder to kill a Mar than that," the girl commented, as if she had heard that statement too many times.

The Spargan looked around, remembering her surrounding once her wound had been taken care of. "What happened here?" She asked, her tone neither asking for an answer, nor demanding one. It was a simple inquiry in which Ashelin had the choice to answer or not.

"Metal heads," Ashelin answered simply. "They broke through the wall."

"Why?" The innocent curiosity was suddenly gone, replaced by something else. Ashelin realized she was rather bluntly probing for a confession.

"I don't know," Ashelin answered, guarded.

The Lordess frowned, finding nothing of any true interest in this conversation. She stood, testing her leg, before waddling over to the glider. Ashelin must not have noticed it before, because she seemed perplexed by its bird shaped appearance. "I have to leave," Zara said, stating the obvious.

Ashelin looked at her for a moment, the glanced back at the glider. "Where?"

"The wasteland."

"You just got here."

Zara turned to look at her. "I know, but I don't want to be here long. It was never my intention to land in the first place."

"Then why did you?"

She looked around, sadness crossing her face for a moment. She sighed forlornly. "Because I was sad to see this place in such devastation." Her voice was just above a whisper.

Ashelin frowned. "So that's it then? You just pop up long enough to get shot then you leave?"

The girl laughed. "Yeah, pretty much."

"Is there any way for me to contact you?"

The girl paused in her actions of prepping the machine, looking thoughtful. After a moment she dug through her pack and pulled out a beacon signal. "Go out to the wasteland if you want to see me, and activate it. I will come find you."

**/-/-/**

"Meh, I'll just say I went for a walk or something," She said more to herself than anyone else. Not that there was anyone else anyway. The sun had yet to rise above the desert horizon, only monks, beginning their daily prayers could be seen moving in their formation to the small prayer ground. The night was one of the more busy times in Spargus, but there was a few hour period just before dawn where people slept in warm bed while it was cold out. As it was, Zara's breath curled out of her mouth with each breath. The coldest and darkest time was just before the dawn.

She jumped down from the ledge, and onto the sea slicked rocks. She grunted as her injured leg was jarred upon impact, and she lost her balance. She gave a short cry as she tumbled into the ocean, her leg stinging in the salty water. This wasn't the first time she had been shot, and it wasn't a clean shot, more like a graze. Even still, it was painful.

She splashed in the water, but finding the rocks too slippery to climb up onto. Why she though it was a good idea to try a balancing act on an injured leg was beyond her.

Just when she thought she would have to swim to the gentle sand incline, she was heaved straight out of the water. She squawked indignantly as she came face to face with her guardian.

"Sig!" She cried happily.

He set her down, his organic eye running over her soaked form, tired eyes, and stained pant leg. "You fell in," he deadpanned.

"Brilliant observation," she snarked.

He laughed, his booming voice bouncing off the building. "I'm askin' you why, Cherry Pit."

"Oh! Why didn't you just say so!" She paused, taking a large breath as she tried to organize her excuse. "I had this really cool, freaky dream and decided to come out to examine it. Then I fell in." She gestured to the water lamely. In her mind, it had sounded so much better.

He just grunted, looking at her leg, which had started to bleed through the bandage, but decided to ignore it for now. "I didn't even see you leave. How long have you been out here?"

"Oh, you know me, big guy. I can be stealthy, and I'm hardly a morning person." She glared at the lightening horizon over the palace, wishing she could just go to bed. "I think I'm going to go back to my room and sleep the rest of the morning off."

She turned to leave, but only got a few yards before Sig called her back. "Just because I'm going to let you get away with your night long adventures to Precursors know where, does not mean I'm going to let you shirk off your studies."

She glanced at him over her shoulder, suddenly hating him. "You are not my guardian anymore, so stop acting like it."

For a second he looked as if she had struck him with a flat board. She instantly wanted to reel all the words back in. She thought briefly of apologizing but knew her pride wouldn't allow it.

There was a black silence between the two of them, and for a moment, Zara thought Sig might hit her.

But his shoulders suddenly dropped, as if defeated. His voice came to her over the sound of the crashing waves, sound cold and strained. "I apologize if I offended you, my Lordess."

**/-/-/**

Two days later, Mar ran down one of the many halls of the palace as fast as his stubby little legs could carry him. Today was Zara's birthday, and he wanted to give her the present he had found this morning. Behind him, he could hear the long, prideful steps of his mother, and the swishing of her waistcoat. The little boy grinned, reaching into his pocket as he went, and touched the smooth surface of his present.

"Careful, Mar. If you keep playing with it, you'll break it before you can give it to her."

The boy stopped his waddle run to wait for his mother and ChumChum, who had been trailing behind obediently. Salina stopped and picked the boy up into her arms. He pulled the green beetle out of his pocket and brought around for his mother to examine. She appeared to look at it closely before looking back to him with a nod and a smile.

They reached the end of the hall, and knocked on the door. Salina put the boy down as she heard her daughter come to greet them. As soon as the heavy wooden door opened, Mar raced in between the young princess's legs, ChumChum following. The two women laughed as boy and dog ran in circles around the cluttered space.

"Happy birthday, Zara," Salina said through her soft laughter. The girl looked at her, a smile on her lips. Mar, deciding now was a good time, ran over to his sister and offered her the beetle. Zara looked appalled for a moment, looking at the luminescent green that glowed off the bug's shell. Mar grinned as she took it and held it up to examine it.

Smiling down at Mar, she said her thank you and placed it on the shelf, beside her own collection of bugs the two year old had collected for her.

Salina beckoned her son over and straightened his clothes, a fine blue jacket over his a white shirt and black pants. "Go take Chummy and remind your father that today is his daughter's birthday."

The boy nodded enthusiastically and ran past, the crocadog following, ever obedient. Salina watched him go, a fondness in her eyes as he disappeared. As soon as the child was out of earshot, she turned to her daughter again. "I heard you got into a fight with Sig."

"It wasn't a fight!" She defended. "It was just a disagreement."

"And there is still no apologies."

"Why should I? He's the one that keeps trying to control me. He's not my guardian anymore, and has no right to." She huffed and became silent, turning her back to her mother.

Salina hummed. "So that is what this is about." She paused and stepped closer to her daughter, wrapping the girl in an embrace. "He isn't leaving forever. He'll come back."

"Yeah? In what, five years?" She spat bitterly. "I won't need him anymore, by then."

"You don't need him now." Salina trailed away for a moment. "How about this. I'll prove to you that you don't need him. Why don't we go to the eco mines together, for the next check."

Zara looked up happily. "Really? You'll let me come this time?"

"Of course. Being you are now fourteen, I think you are old enough. Now try to apologize to Sig before he leaves, you might not get another chance. If you don't, you will always regret it."

**XXX**

_Hey everyone. Welcome to Saturday number two! I want to get a few things down. When I was originally writing this, I had no sense of timeline. So for future reference, Zara is fourteen, Mar is two, and Jak has just landed in Haven City, or is about to, anyway. So when Jak II starts, Zara will be sixteen, a year younger than Jak, and Mar will be four. I estimated that was how old he was in the games, and it helps explain why he doesn't remember much. I don't remember much from when I was four._

_Also, the Crocadog's name is ChumChum. It was previously Sem, but I thought Chummy was cuter. If you find a place where this trips, please tell me. I tried to fix it all, but I'm only human._

_Follow my Twitter for updates and stuff. Please review, yada yada. Thanks for reading. See ya'll next week!_


	3. Chapter 3

**The Forgotten Memory Saga  
**_**The Hidden Library  
**_**Chapter 3**

It really was an expanse of nothing. Sand as far as the eye could see, and not a thing otherwise. Ashelin had flown over the desert for hours, taking note of the ruins and tunnels, and the giant temple that seemed to rise up from the sea. It was all strangely awe inspiring, reminding her how small she really was. She finally came to a stop, landing on the sand in an almost sheltered alcove. At least she thought it seemed sheltered, seeing as it had trees and even fresh water.

She activated the beacon, and waited. The sand whipped past her face, and she knew she would have blemishes tomorrow. She realized the importance of that scarf Zara had been wearing when she had first met her, the black one that had so easily hid her face, making her a target. Again, she looked around the empty expanse, wondering how any kind of person, let alone an entire city, could survive out here. There was nothing to live off of. Of course, Damas was known to be resourceful. It was what made him such a valuable ally and deadly enemy all the same.

She wasn't too sure of the mistake she made, but she found herself dozing after a while. The relentless sun was being blocked perfectly by the mountain side behind her, giving her some much appreciated shade, and cutting through the heat like a knife. Conditions were comfortable, and not an enemy in sight. It had all happened so naturally, she hadn't even realized she had nodded off until she was being roughly shaken.

First instinct was to get away from the stranger. She had never seen him before, this man with shaggy black hair and the brightest green eyes she had ever seen. He wore a scarf wrapped around his head, hair peeking out from between the folds, and eyes angrily watching her. He was also wearing a plated armor that brought to mind metal head armor. She flicked one pistol up, faster than most people could react to, but he just jotted a hand out to grab at her wrist. That was when she realized he was not an elf. There was no way such claws could be owned by an elf. The natural blades dug into the tender flesh at the base of her hand and the pistol tumbled out of her hand.

A snarl had could be heard from beneath the cloth, and without releasing her he leaned toward her face, his eyes alight with rage. "Never fall asleep in the desert, Havenite."

Ashelin spat, reveling in the way he jumped back, releasing her arm as if it had burned him. He stalked away, one arm lifting up in the direction she had seen the temple earlier. "Go to the temple." He then proceeded to confirm her suspicions. He sank forward, falling to his hands, as his bones flawlessly rearranged themselves into a new form. A dog; no, a wolf. He was too big to be a dog. He was too big to be a wolf, too, but she had no other way of describing him. But one thing was clear, even though she had never seen anything quite like him, he was metal head. The gem, placed on his chest, was enough of an indication, if his size hadn't told her. Big and black, a thick tail that sported ivory spikes, massive wings that stretched up above him, and paws that looked ideal for running across a shifting landscape.

He turned his head to examine her cruelly, intelligent green eyes sizing her up. He never quite left that crouch he had fallen into. He opened his long muzzle, the gleam of teeth easily seen from only the three yard distance they stood from each other. The words that came forth from his mouth seemed almost unnatural, even as his tongue and lips easily formed the words. "Are you coming?"

He bounded up a nearby palm tree, taking off from the higher vantage point. Ashelin followed, the engines in her hellcat roaring to life. She was surprised; even with the hellcat's engine's straining in the sweltering air, the city born machine was still having a hard time keeping up with creature. The metal head himself seemed completely unperturbed by the heat, despite the thick layer of black fur that covered every inch of his wolfish form.

She followed him some ways over the empty expanse, then over ocean. It was there that she realized why he was unaffected by the heat. He made a sharp dive, hitting the ocean surface with little splash. He used the momentum of the dive to arch under the water and shoot up into the air again. Water cascaded off of him as he gained altitude.

The air was substantially cooler as they approached a spire like mountain that jutted from the ocean in a spectacular way. She realized with some awe that this was one of the mountains she noticed earlier. Precurian writings were scrawled all across the unnaturally carved stone that seemed to peek through the rock of the natural mountain. There was something inside, some sort of structure that had lay dormant and hidden from all on the outside.

They flew carefully through a break in the rock that hid a path up the side of the mountain. He landed softly on the sand in a crouch, next to a wheeled vehicle with massive hydraulic pumps the size of her torso. The vehicle in a whole looked like a spider. Ashelin figured this was Zara's passage to the mountain.

Looking ahead, she saw gigantic pillars, and beyond that a door with a Precursor Guardian looking down at them with its bulging stone eyes. Ashelin stood in wonder at the structure, noticing that there were giant torches on the pillars, well maintained.

She wasn't sure if she was curious of the existence here, or afraid of it. "Is this where wastelanders live?" She asked the metal head. He had turned back into a pseudo-elf and removed his head coverings during her examination of the building.

"No, this is where the monks live." When she looked at him, a silent query in her gaze, he obliged her. "Mostly hermits that live outside of civilization. Fairly peaceful people, but they are well trained to protect their way of life, Havenite, so don't think of intruding."

She glared at the creature reproachfully. "I'm not my father, you know," she snapped. "Besides, you have no room to talk, metal head." She spat the name like venom.

His face twisted up like she was some degusting slug that had crawled across his foot. He, however, refrained from replying as he tromped past her toward the door, which opened with a creak and scrape of stone upon stone.

Inside was a carefully built structure. The walls, covered in torches and platforms rose all the way to the sky it seemed. She stared, stricken by its ancient beauty. She barely noticed the two girls standing over by a small fire built. It was then she noticed the late hour, and how cold it had gotten since she had been out of the sun.

She looked over at the other two. A girl with pure white hair, about as old as the metal head looked, and with same striking eyes. She also wore a pendant around her neck, that looked like a miniature skull gem, or in their case, a chest gem. The boy and girl were siblings, that much was apparent. The second girl was Zara. The young Mar had stood to greet her when she came in, her long coat, hanging over one shoulder and wrapping around her neck swishing as she walked forward.

She wrapped Ashelin in an embrace, one the Havenite gladly excepted and returned. "So this is what you've been doing all these years?" Ashelin asked. "A hermit in the desert?"

The girl laughed. "Oh, no. I'm not a monk, just using their sanctuary for the night. The desert gets dangerous."

"Then what have you been doing?"

The fourteen year old smiled. "Taming the wild." It was a simply reply that seemed to speak volumes.

Ashelin waved a hand at the two metal heads gathered around the small fire, talking in some weird, clipped language. "Apparently."

The female must have heard the jibe, as she suddenly flicked her face in their direction. "Hey," she called indignantly. "We're not metal heads. We're Hora Quan. _Our_ bodies haven't been so poisoned by dark eco that our limbs fall off, and we have retained the powers the precursors gave us by creation."

"Power? What powers?." Ashelin inquired.

The girl smiled, and said something to her brother in that same clipped language as before. He snarled and stood.

"It doesn't matter to you, Havenite."

"It matters if your still a metal head."

"We're different," the female replied in her brother's stead.

The Havenite looked down at the smaller girl. "How so?"

"Metal heads from the cities have been exposed to dark eco. Their kind," she gestured to the two, "still hold their forms and eco powers that their ancestors did."

Ashelin grimaced. "That's just an old fairy tale."

Zara looked up at her earnestly for a moment. "Is it?" The girl shook her head after a moment. "Anyway, I have dinner all ready and stuff." She smiled a little evilly. "I hope you like lizard jerky and octopus eggs."

**XXX**

_Hey all, I'm sorry if that whole fairytale business is confusing. I realize that it's not fully explained until a ridiculous time later. In the third book somewhere, I think Jak asks another character that has yet to be introduced and she gives him the full explanation. I didn't realize that make hint to it here, as it was not in the original version of this chapter. I'm not in the mood to completely rewrite this chapter more than I already have, however. I also realize, with both pride and embarrassment that my writing has much improved since I wrote this. It's terrible because I'm trying to connect things that I know are supposed to connect, but never actually set up the connections for them. I may have to rewrite this again, only because the plot is so damn muddled._

_Follow my twitter for updates. Link in my profile._


	4. Chapter 4

**The Forgotten Memory Saga  
_The Hidden Library  
_Chapter 4**

"You know," Kit said as they moved through the many halls of the palace. "I had no idea that Kilo had a sister," she finished, looking up at the arched ceiling.

"Yeah," Kovu replied after a couple of seconds. "Why didn't you tell us, Reichi?"

Zara shrugged, "I didn't think it was important." She moved to stand in front of a window, leaning on the sandstone sill. "I never expected her to come to the desert."

Kovu sat down beside her, in his elf form, leaning against the wall beside a pot of fragment smelling desert flowers. He picked one of the many blossoms from its stem, bringing the flower to his nose. "Why didn't you tell her about Kilo."

Zara suddenly shifted, her face screwing up. "Are you crazy?" She snapped. Kovu dropped the flower in his surprise, the looping, papery red petals folding in his lap. "What was I supposed to tell her?" Zara took in a sharp breath. "Oh, yeah," her voice dropped an octave to signifying her mimicry. "Your brother's alive and well, just a spy for us in Haven city. Sorry no one ever told you!"

Someone laughed, making all three children jump. Kit and Zara spun around; Kovu leaned forward from where he was sitting to see around the girls' legs. The subject of their conversation was walking down the empty hall toward them, still in the heavy garb of the Havenite lower class. "Poor Ash," he said.

Zara smiled at seeing the older man. She broke from the window sill and collided with him in a hug. "You're back!"

"Only for a day. Sig and I are being deported again tomorrow." He was a taller man, red braids making up his thick mane. His face was paler, and gaunter than Zara remembered. The situation in Haven must be getting worse. Despite all this, his green eyes were kind as they looked down on the girl.

"It's still good to see you," she replied sincerely.

"I feel special, your Highness." He bowed deeply to her. Once he straightened, he changed the subject, his face hardening. "You saw my sister." It wasn't a question.

"Don't tell Papa."

Kilo laughed, but his eyes were sad. "It's good to see you haven't quite grown up since I last saw you." Zara frowned, Kilo laughed. "I don't kiss and tell." He bent down and Zara gave him a peck on his grizzly cheek.

"You need to shave."

"Alright, alright," he waved her off. "But don't go following my sister around." He spoke with a sudden seriousness. "I don't want to find you anywhere near Haven, got it?"

Zara nodded. "But if she comes back-"

"Don't tell her I'm alive. As far as she's concerned, I'm dead." He stood, and looked off down the hall. "I have to go, be good."

Zara called his name to ask for an explanation, but he seemed lost in the past. She watched his walk away, dissatisfied.

"I don't like him," Kovu grumped. "I never have and never will." He paused for a moment. "What was he actually banished for anyway?"

Zara tore her eyes away from the spot he had disappeared. "I don't know, he never told me." Zara shook her head. "You guys should go home."

"What?" Kit asked. "You're trying to get rid of us now?"

"No," Zara placated. "I'm about to compromise my pride as the future queen, and I rather you lot not be there."

**/-/-/**

She hesitated. She knew why, but didn't want to admit it. The metal door in front of her was daunting, even in its plainness. A scrap metal door, probably torn off an abandoned hellcat, all the paint either scratched off or burned off.

A deep breath and she racked her calloused knuckles across the metal. The gentle shuffling inside was abruptly stopped and she waited with her breath held for an answer from inside. For a long moment, the only thing she heard was the crashing waves to her right and her own heart beating inside her throat.

"Who is it?" The deep voice from the inside, gruff in nature, and holding the accented tinge of the Havenite lower class.

"It's me," she replied after a moment.

There was silence again, this time it seemed heavier than before. She was sure that Sig was about to tell her to go away, and she was about to accept that punishment. Tear welled in her eyes, panic gripped her heart like an icy lurker claw.

"I'm sorry," she called through the door, her voice cracking against her will. She threw herself against the metal barrier, collapsing outside it. "I've been terrible to you, and I'm sorry. You've been my guardian all these years, and I know it's time you moved on, but I'm scared I'll never see you again. I don't want to be queen on my own; I don't want to grow up on my own. You deserve better than this, better than the way I've been treating you. I'm sorry." The words tumbled out faster than she could stop them, everything that she had held in for the past week all fell out of her, splayed across the floor, ready to be judged.

Another eternity long moment passed, then she found the door she was using to support herself suddenly disappear. She landed on her shoulder, the steel toe of a boot digging into her cheek. She didn't bother to pick herself up.

Sig did it for her. He knelt down to her, picking her and pulling her into his lap, just like he used to when she was Mar's age. She curled into his chest, clenching the cloth of his loose tunic. "I'm sorry," she repeated.

Sig sighed heavily, and it was like he was breathing life into her. She hadn't realized that she was holding her breath between words. "I'm sorry," she said again, but it came out with the long exhale of breath.

"You beat yourself too much over this."

"What I said was wrong." She reasoned with him. He shouldn't forgive her this quickly. He should only forgive her when she had forgiven herself.

"What you _said_, Cherry Pit, was that you were scared. It just came out the only way you knew how to say it."

"That doesn't make it any better."

Sig laughed suddenly. "I'm goin' ta miss you, Cherry Pit."

"Then why don't you stay?" Hope flared painfully in her chest. Just a chance to convince him was all she needed. "I still need you, and you won't have to leave home. It's a win-win situation."

Sig chuckled, but it was sad. "You don' need me, Cherry Pit. Every day I see you grow more and more inta the woman that will someday lead her people."

Zara frowned, feeling that familiar pit of dread settle at the bottom of her stomach. "I'm not ready to become queen. I'll never be good at it. I get scared when I talk in front of too many people, I'm not smart enough to come up with brilliant battle plans, I'm not brave enough to run in shooting. Precursors, Sig, I can't even fix my own sand coat by myself." She pouted. "I think Mar should be leader. He's three, and already has a loyal following at his playground. Half of them don't even know his name 'cause he doesn't talk."

Sig sighed again, but it the air of a coming explanation. "You know that the monks have predicted that the Prince will be taken away from Spargus. They already said he won't be leadin' Spargus for a long time."

"You know mine too, don't you?"

"Zara, I can't tell you. You know that."

She frowned. "I won't tell anyone you told me," she pleaded.

There was a long moment of silence. Zara watched his face for any change. He was silent for a long time, his poker face solid. Finally, he said, with an air of finality. "Live life in the fullest, and try not to leave home. When it comes your time to lead, I will be right beside you. That is an oath of honor, made only to my princess."

**XXX**

_Chapter four already! We're getting things rolling along nicely now. I hope you all enjoyed. Follow my twitter for updates and info or if u have any questions. There's a link in my profile._


	5. Chapter 5

**The Forgotten Memory Saga  
**_**The Hidden Library**_**  
****Chapter 5**

"Zara, my love, wake up." It didn't take much, Zara mused bitterly for her mother to wake her. Just a soft voice, beckoning her back to the world of the living, a soothing hand ran over the top of her blanket, coaxing her from sleep.

She lifted her head groggily, meeting the bright blue eyes of her mother. "What?" She asked, trying to clear her mind and keep her eyes open long enough to form a coherent question and be able to make sense of the answer.

Salina smiled warmly at her. "You still want to go to the mines?"

The girl let her head drop back down to the pillow. "This early?" She looked over at her window, the sky was barley even the pre-dawn grey. Her mother's face was merely and outline in the darkness.

"Of course, darling. It's better to do it now, while it's cool, then to do it later when the smell of sweat has had a chance to permeate the entire mine." Salina laughed a little.

"That's disgusting, Mom." Her voice was muffled by the pillow.

"Not disgusting, the truth."

There was silence between the two of them. The excitement of the offer that had just been laid out in front of her began to catch up. She had always wanted to go the mines. "Okay," she said finally. "I'll be down in an hour."

Salina smiled, and got up from the bed. Zara heard her door shut softly a few moments later.

**/-/-/**

The throne room was almost completely empty, except for both the King and Queen standing over a small plant. Salina was crooning to the pot, the hand waving over the seedling, glowed steadily silver. The seedling pushed its way through the soil, attracted to the warmth of the eco emanating from the queen.

The girl moved to stand beside her father, wrapping her arms around his solid waist. He had yet to adorn himself in armor, so she wasn't afraid of having her skin pinched by the scaled layers of Precursoran metal. His hand came to rest on her shoulder, and they both watched the older woman in fascination.

After a moment, the queen took a sharp breath, and Damos leaned forward to rest his other hand on her shoulder. "That's enough," he warned. "Don't strain yourself."

The queen smiled up at her husband, setting the pot down on the sandstone, next to the window. "I'm fine," she chastised him gently. That was the one thing that Zara had always known her mother to be; gentle. She was the one that gave the King his conscience. She was peaceful women, always teaching kindness to every living creature, even the metal heads. She would never take a side in a war, never promote the death of others. Zara admired her for that. She knew that in the world of the desert, it was either kill or be killed. Or rather, as Sig liked to tell her during training sessions, 'Kill it before it kills you'. A motto he learned in Haven.

The queen stood from her crouch, not looking away from the window. The sun was just beginning to peak it's head above horizon, shining it's first rays across the sand and mountains. She sighed, sounding content. "Alright," she said after a moment. She turned to her daughter. "Shall we?"

Zara nodded, and waited as her mother gave the King a light kiss in farewell and followed her when she moved to the rickety old elevator.

The walk through the city was calm. Many of the citizens were starting their day, and others were preparing to sleep it all away. Many nodded, some bowed, others gave a simple and respectful salute to their queen. The car port was empty of people, but full with cars, Kleiver was nowhere in sight. The queen peaked inside his office, hidden behind a metal panel. Seeing as he wasn't there, she grinned at her daughter.

"I'm sure he wouldn't mind using his Shark," the queen reasoned. She nicked the keys off the rack on the ever open door, and motioned her daughter to the passenger seat. Zara wasn't one to ever drive these things. She was a glider pilot. Most pilots were small enough for the small craft but not big enough to be able to control the vehicles properly. She never drove, and was not inclined to learn properly.

The ride through the desert was long, and the sun warmed the sir quickly. It was a clear day, and soon Zara had shed her sand coat to bunch up around her waist. There was silence between them; Zara allowing her mother to concentrate on the desert in front of them.

A few hours into the morning, they passed into the ruins. There was few marauders out today. They weren't keen on attacking on clear days, as it was well known that Spargan vehicles were much tougher, and needed the element of surprise in order to take down without many casualties. Even still, they refrained from stopping for water, as it was stupid to open any container of food or water while driving, to prevent the danger of spilling. The marauders were a paranoid bunch that believed the ruins were either rigged by the Spargans to blow up (a result of several marauders trying to assault a Spargan scouting party back in the early days of the city, where many of the attackers had several limbs blown off by Precursor eco bombs that the sands had shifted to the surface), or was haunted by the vengeful spirits of dead Spargans. Either way, they blamed the outcast city for everything; including droughts, sickness, and earthquakes.

Salina pulled herself from the Shark, stretching her arms up in the air. Zara climbed out, feeling a little shaken up by the bumpy ride. She moved around the back to the trunk, underneath the engine. The metal was cold, as a result of the engine coolant block that rested on top. She opened the hatch, pulling forth a canteen and a bag of lizard jerky. She dug through the bag, putting one in her mouth before handing it over to the queen. Salina took a small sip of water, and a strip. They sat in silence for a long moment.

"Are you excited?"

"About the mines? Yes!" She paused. "But now I'm a little apprehensive about the whole sweat comment."

The queen chuckled. "It can get bad, which is why I have made a good habit of doing the routine checkups during the mornings."

"Can't be as bad as your farts…" She remarked softly.

The queen heard and scoffed, sounding playfully offended. "Farting is un-queenly!"

Zara outright laughed. "If it's un-queenly, then no woman in meant for it."

They both laughed for a moment. The queen suddenly looked at her sharply, making Zara's head snap up in curiosity.

"You're afraid to lead, aren't you?" A moment of blunt truth that often over took her mother. It was as if the internal commentary was turned to the highest volume.

She shook her head furiously. "No, a princess must always be ready to take her post. I'm not afraid."

"But do you want it?"

Zara hesitated for only a second, then reacted with the answer she knew her mother would like. "Yes."

Salina, as usual, saw right through it. "You don't have to want it. You never have to."

"I know that, but it's who I am. I'm a Mar, it's in my blood to lead."

Salina sighed, looking off into the distance, where the snow topped mountains lined the horizon. "Who you are isn't always who you want to be, my dear."

Zara looked off to where her mother's eyes were, but knew she wouldn't see the same thing. Where the princess only saw far away mountains, her mother saw another life. The girl suddenly felt guilty. "Do you ever regret marrying Papa?"

The queen's face screwed up indignantly. "Never!" She turned her face toward her daughter, fury in her eyes. "Don't ever think that for a second I regret anything. I love your father, your brother, and I love you. I love this city, and this desert, and the HoraQuan that live in it. I love the monks, and I even love the marauders when they're not trying to kill my people. I love being married to greatest family of warriors that ever lived, and being able to further that House." She paused and took a breath, her chest deflating. "Sometimes I miss the mountains and lurkers and the people that thought me a god, but I would never for a second think of regretting my choice. If I could go back in time, I would still make the same choice as before."

She hugged her daughter close to her. "If something ever happens to me, I want you to remember that."

/-/-/

It all happened too fast for the princess to really know what was happening. One minute, they were being led around one of the many caverns inside the mine, the next she was being shoved from the entrance by several red clad men. She had never seen them before, but the struck a deep cord in her memory. They were rough, pushing her forward, grabbing at her hair, ripping her rifle from her hands.

There were yells echoing off the walls as they reentered the main cavern. Miners were using their picks to fend off the red men. She had no idea where they had come from. The one holding her was suddenly dropped by a bullet through his head. She resisted the urge to scream, even as blood seep from his mask and onto the sand.

"Zara!"

He spun around, searching for her mother. She had heard her call, but there was so much movement, so many faces, pushing her, urging her to flee. The call came from the way she had come, close but too far away.

"Mom!" She tried to push against the current of people, but they only picked her up, ignoring her pleas to go back.

The next moment happened in a different kind of rush, in an almost blurred motion, time seemed to be moving too fast, yet too slow. She heard it the first time, the blast of a shot gun, the first she had heard yet. Then everything was black, silent. Then she saw it, from different eyes, as if the moment was playing over again behind her eyes. People rushed past her, both angry red and friendly tan.

A voice, low and hateful. "_You!"_ A slow turn, a swish of black dreads, Salina's hair. The barrel of a gun pressed up against her skin. No time to react, the back lash pushed the air from her body, the life from her skin. Fading light, a girl, herself, standing, watching, stricken.

_I'm sorry…_

**XXX**

_I know that this chapter ends kind of abruptly, and this whole scene is really quick, but I skipped half of what was in the rough draft because it was all pointless. Sorry it took so long today, forgot it was Saturday… Hope you enjoyed! Leave a review, tell me what you think, et cetera! Follow my Twitter for updates and the like. There's a link in my Profile.!_


	6. Chapter 6

**A Forgotten Memory**

_**The Hidden Library**_

**Chapter 6**

Damas, the Lord of Spargus, had lived in the Wasteland long enough for unexpected thing to no longer surprise him. He had learned to deal with spur of the moment problems quickly and effectively, with little panic.

He reacted just the same when he heard that Havenites had attacked the eco mines. He was perturbed, and unhappy, but not surprised in the least bit. He could handle this sort of conflict. He was quick to order reinforcements to the sight, in hopes of stopping the invasion. He found himself the fastest car in Kliever's port and set off with the cavalry.

This was how Damas; Lord of Spargus, leader of warriors, King of outcasts came to find his wife dead, surrounded by hundreds of bodies.

Neither Krimzon Guard nor Wastelander had won this battle. Everyone was dead. It made the King dizzy. He knew what could have done this, but, where he found his wife, he could not find his daughter. For a moment, he did not care.

Damas was the Lord of Spargus, he was the Warrior King to lead the Outcasts. He was respected among his allies and feared among his enemies. King Damas was known as a man of strength and wisdom, his reputation far exceeding himself.

And yet, as he held his wife, trying to clear her face of blood, trying not to see the death in front of him, Damas, Lord of Spargus, was a mere man. The problem he now faced could not be solved with clever tactics or brute strength. This problem was enough to make any man crumble.

**/-/-/**

Haven city, was just that, a city. And cities never slept. Most people were too afraid to walk the streets openly, with the barley enforced curfews, but the Guards didn't venture too far from the main streets and day time thoroughfares. It was easy to bypass them if you were small enough to be beat up, but if you were as big, or bigger, as in Sig's case, they wouldn't dare give you more than an ugly look. The bravest of the bunch would perhaps give you a ballsy loitering ticket.

Sig rolled his organic eye skyward, ignoring the half-baked complaints from the Guard doing his rounds. 'Whacha waitin' for Brownie?' he kept saying. Racist bastard. Damas always said to take pity on those least endowed.

"His dick's the size of a finger." He said to himself, only to make himself feel better. It didn't do much for him in honest opinion. At least he had something to take pity on him now.

Three hours past midnight, and it was cold and drizzly. He adjusted the Peace Maker against his chest better, clicking off the safety for entertainment reasons. He watched his minute amusement as the glow from the head grew brighter, the air electrifying, then dimming again. The Guard didn't say anything this time around.

The airtrain finally came into sight over the top of the city wall. The flashing lights on the hull and back hatch were what caught his eye. He turned to look at it as it landed and allowed it's passenger off on the dock.

The red head moved forward, his expression unreadable in the darkness. There was a small gesture to follow him, his pace brisk. The moved out onto one of the bridges that led back to the main port street. There was no one walking along, civilian or guard.

Once they got a good distance down the walkway, Soloman began talking in a low and urgent tone. "The mines were attacked by Havenites yesterday."

Sig absorbed the information in a passive manner, not sure how to react. He wasn't surprised, but didn't like the way Kilo was speaking. "What happened?"

The younger man shrugged, a light from a passing hellcat illuminated the lost expression on his face. They waited for the vehicle to get a good distance before continuing. "No one really knows."

Sig was quiet. He wasn't sure what to say.

"No one survived, at least I don't think so." He paused, and seemed to think for a moment. "Zara lived…"

Sig baulked. "What was Zara doing at the mine?" She was too young to be there.

Kilo seemed to be thinking something along the same lines. "I don't know, Sig. All I know is that Zara's been unconscious and the Queen-" He was cut off by another hellcat, this one illuminating the rage written in his eyes. He continued after a moment, his voice quieter. "The Queen is dead."

**/-/-/**

**The world is shrinking.  
**_How is it shrinking?  
_**It's not shrinking, it's withering.  
**_What else?  
_**It's screaming.  
**_Screaming?  
_**It hurts…  
**_Then listen harder.  
_**I can't.  
**_You can and you will. What does it say?  
_**I don't know…  
**_What does it say!  
_**Stop hurting me!  
**_I will when you answer me.  
_**They scream for blood.  
**A smile like silk. _What color is the scream?  
_**Red like blood.  
**_And the sun?  
_**Black like Eco.  
**_Eco…  
_**Who are you?  
**Eyes wide, curiosity high and dangerous. _I don't know, you should ask yourself. _A veiled threat.  
**I don't know who you are.  
**Indulgent. _Of course you do.  
_**You are a monster.  
**A laugh, nonexistent. _And who are you, my dear?  
_**I am… I am a queen.  
**_Why do you hesitate? Are you afraid?  
_Silence.  
**What are you?  
**A smile once again. Cruel and humorless. _I am the manifestation of your nightmares._**  
XXX**

"Papa?" Her voice was weak, her conviction even more so. She searched the room weakly trying to pick out her father from the gloom.

Damas was suddenly alert, sitting up from the large chair he had been slumped in. It had been five days and not a word had been uttered from her mouth. The doctors said she would live, but she had been incredibly lucky.

The sand king took up her hand when she reached for him, tenderly grasping her pale fingers. He smiled at her, violet eyes meeting blue. He smiled sadly, she looked so much like her mother.

"I'm sorry," she croaked at him. It pained him to see her so weak, so sad. He had lost his queen this day, but he still had his daughter. The pain of loss was dampened only slightly. The look in hers eyes, the agony of shame she seemed to exude made him want to hold her and never let go. "I'm so sorry I couldn't save her."

Damas sucked in a sharp breath, his face twisting into something unpleasant. "There is no need to be sorry," he tried to tell her. "There was nothing that could be done."

He knew what was to come next. Salina had warned him of this when they decided to have children. Her powers, really any eco saturation, came with a heavy price.

"Help me," she whined, her eyes watered and she looked utterly pathetic. "There is a monster," she explained.

Damas swallowed. "Where is the monster, Zara?" He asked her gently.

She shook her head, her face contorting with pain. She tried to arch off the bed, but Damas held her down.

A sound came from deep in her throat, somewhere between a growl and a whine. "It's in my head."

**XXX**

It was as if the world was swallowed by sadness. The city mourned for the loss of their queen, and raged the men who did it. The city was in a shadow.

The recovered her body, and burned it on the pyre, as was the tradition of her people. The city was silent that day, like a cloud had settled among the streets. But the following day was filled with a different kind of energy than before. It was a planning energy, something that took place in bars and meeting halls. People were angry, and they knew who to blame for this grief.

Zara threw herself at her work. She went out to her daily jobs with a new vigor, and animosity. Everyone worried for her, and she detested it. Nothing matter to her but what was directly in front of her, and she allowed herself to make no mistakes.

What else was she to do? Kovu and Kitala were no longer allowed off the mountain cliffs they called home. They were constantly watched and escorted. The desert tribes had been spooked, and they took no chances with their young heirs.

Everyone suffered from the Queen's passing. Mar felt the presence of so much sadness and he cried when no one would smile and play with him anymore.

As time went on, and the mourning passed in the city, the palaces, and its occupants, were still held under a dark cloud. Tension and arguments broke out between the king and his daughter, and Mar always ran at those times. He was angry and sad, and wanted his mother to come back from wherever she had gone and make everyone like each other again. He decided he did not want to speak to anyone, not until they stopped fighting.

**XXX**

_Why do you cry for her so much?_

**She was my mother.**

_Your answers are cold._

**I feel cold.**

_Emotionless…_

**I don't want to be here anymore.**

_Isn't that a bit harsh?_

**She was my mother.**

_She was going to die someday. Rather sooner than later._

**She was my mother.**

_It doesn't matter that she was your mother! What is actually hurting you is that you failed to protect her. _

Silence.

_No answer? Did I poor salt on the wound, dear Princess._

**Shut up.**

A laugh, gleeful and chilling.

_Go on now, brood. We'll see how far you get before you can be coaxed back into talking._

Silence.

_Have you thought of a name for me yet? Your mother called me Raze, so not that. I don't like repeat names._

Silence, dragging into long minutes.

_You are going to stop talking to me now? _Incredulous, angry. _Have you fallen asleep?_

**I can't fall asleep with you screaming at me.**

_Now that's just mean. I wasn't screaming, I was being insistent._

**What's the difference?**

_Don't be a smart ass._

**Too late.**

_Salina was never like this._

**Then it's a good thing I'm not Salina.**

_You weren't sarcastic before. Is this how you are inside? A sarcastic, selfish little failure?_

Silence, and a soft buzz, like a sigh.

**I will name you.**

_Oh…?_

**Neo.**

**XXX**

_A/N: The Birth of Neo. I forgot it takes this long to introduce him. He's in everything from here on out. Sorry I didn't update last week, I had a business trip all weekend and by the time I got back to the hotel I was too tired to eat dinner, let alone edit a chapter. I've considered doing a double upload, but I don't think there are a lot of people reading this. Anyway, leave a review and follow me on twitter._


	7. Chapter 7

**The Forgotten Memory Saga**

_**The Hidden Library**_

**Chapter 7**

Flashing, flashing, flashing. She rolled over, trying to pinpoint the source of the annoying flashing. It took her a moment to focus groggily on the small beacon sitting on her bedside table. It flashed irritatingly at her, rhythmic and constant. She stared at it for a long time, deciding whether or not it was actually worth it to pick it up and see what it was about.

After what felt like a very long, sluggish moment, her mind pulled itself out of the sleep induced haze and processed what the flashing was. A desert beacon had been activated. She sat up in an instant. _Ashelin's_ beacon had been activated.

She picked it up and plugged it into the data pad it had been sitting on. A three dimensional map of the wasteland pixelized across the ceiling, showing her that the signal was coming from the oasis.

She called to her glider and moments later it was floating through the window. There was no explosion of papers this time. There was also no Sig to catch her in the act this time, either, she thought bitterly.

Zara shut off the data pad and slung her rifle across her back. She hopped on her glider, and steered it out the window. It flew out into the frigid desert night. She breathed in deep, as she passed over the wall, feeling the cold air burn her nose. The sky was high, and the stars clear. She could see for miles around. Perhaps this had been what she needed. She swept through the air, feeling the best she had felt in a long time.

The oasis was quiet. Ashelin pulled her coat tighter around her shoulders. How could a place so hot turn out to be so damn cold. She heard the gentle whoosh of the glider engines before she saw it. It crested the rock outcropping above her in a spectacular fashion. It did a short loop-de-loop and came close enough to the ground for the girl to jump off before it has come to a complete stop. It soared back into the air as she charged across the sand toward her.

Ashelin jumped out of the hellcat, but stopped dead when Zara raised her rifle at her. She felt pinned against the stone behind her, having no idea the type of power was in the skinny rifle.

"What the hell are you doing?" Ashelin called across the short distance.

Zara crouched closer to the sand, resting her rifle in a steadier position, not for an instant taking the bead off her. "What the hell are _you_ doing _here_?" She mirrored the question back.

Ashelin wanted to rebut the snarl she addressed her with. The Havenite could not help the confusion that roiled up under the anger. "Zara, it's me!"

"I'm not blind, Havenite. Stop treating me like a child and get out my desert." She was not yelling, but the blind rage was evident.

"_Your_ desert?" Ashelin snorted.

"Yes, _my_ desert, seeing as _your_ people killed my mother."

Ashelin paled. Salina… was dead? When had this happened? How did she miss this? Of course, when Erol had come limping back to the Baron after a _failed_ scouting mission in the desert. What kind of scouting mission required Erol to tag along on? This explained why the Baron had been specific about the wasteland.

Salina had always been kind to Ashelin as a child. Even during that volatile time when the Praxis family was threatening them.

"How is this my fault?" She shook her. The accusations hurt more then she would allow herself to let on. "I had no idea, Zara. My father kept it from me."

Zara shook her head, trembling from head to foot. "No, you knew! You could have stopped him!"

"What do you want me to do then? Bring her back from the dead? Sorry to break it to you, but I can't do that!"

The wastelander's face contorted with rage. She screamed, firing the weapon before Ashelin could react. It went wide, on purpose, Ashelin noted. "All your family does is cause pain! It is a lie that can't stop him."

Ashelin was forced to remember the nameless boy in the center of the pit. The only noise he seemed to make were cries of agony.

"I want you to leave my desert. You are not welcome here anymore."

Ashelin looked down at the sand, unable to take the boy from her thoughts. When she finally looked up again, Zara was gone.

**/-/-/**

_That was harsh._ The morning was fast approaching, but darkness still coated the desert and the city.

"Yeah, and?" She was not in the mood for Neo's banter. Just because she was sleepless did not mean she was not tired. The apparition of all things should have known that.

_I was just saying…_

"Well, maybe you shouldn't say anything at all."

_My, aren't we touchy tonight._

"Shut up and go away."

_I'd love to, Princess, but seeing as I'm not going anywhere anytime soon, you might as well tell me what is on your mind._

"Can't you just read my mind?"

There was a sound like a snort, maybe even a laugh from the creature. _I'm a manifestation, not a psychic, you twat._

She rolled over in her bed, wishing she could roll away from him. "I don't want her in the desert, because it's dangerous. She could be eaten or something."

_Bullshit! That is not the reason why you shot at her._

"Just driving the point home."

He was silent for a time. _You actually think it's her fault, don't you._

"No, I know she probably had nothing to do with it."

The creature seemed to make a buzzing sound reminiscent of a sigh. _You just wanted someone to blame._

"I thought you weren't a mind reader, Neo."

/-/-/

The palace was still silent. The servants had not started their daily chores yet. Ashelin slipped back into her room without a sound. She flopped on the bed, the city lights illuminating the chamber better than the small wall light in the corner. Not that she cared. She was just glad to be out of the inky darkness of the desert.

Salina was dead? By Havenites, no doubt. But why would Zara blame her of all people. And why would the Baron be dabbling in the wasteland anyway? What was he after out there?

Ashelin sighed and rolled over onto her back. Damas would have spies in the city. If he did not before, he would now. She had to watch out for them, try to send them a message that she was on their side.

She fell asleep, the sound of the nameless boy's screaming echoing hollowly in her head.

/-/-/

This was a volatile time in the desert. The Desert tribes fought with the marauders, the marauders with the Spargans, the Spargans with the poisoned, and the poisoned with the Havenites. The poisoned had since been dubbed the City tribes for their need to be near the eco mongering Havenites, and even Hitt city farther south. Kras, to the north, seemed to be turning a blind eye to its southern brethren and concentrated on their races. The marauders as well wanted to try to conquer the territory in the mountains that belonged to both Kras and a tribe of elves that had been there since before the lurkers. Their ice fortresses sat atop the chateaus like crowns. But also battling for land and life in the snowy glacier tops were the Mountains tribes of Hora Quan. They also seemed to turn a blind eye for their own southern counterparts.

Not that many in the Desert tribes really cared for their northern brothers either. The reason was a mystery to most but the eldest members, and even they remained silent on the topic. Whatever the case was, it did not matter. They would not change the current standings now anyway, if they sent troops south to help, except create more mouths to feed.

Zara had not seen her friends since the usual proceedings of a funeral. Because they were the heirs to their thrones, just as Zara was to hers, they were not allowed to leave the volcano temple they called home, or risk a hierarchy upheaval. One which could potentially leave the tribe opened for attack. The times were too dangerous now.

But for her, she could not afford to fear the desert. If she were to be kept prisoner in her own city, people would lose faith in her legitimacy. If she stopped putting her life in danger with the rest of her people, she could potentially lose her right to the throne, by decree of the people.

So she found herself in the early evening hours flying high above the volcano entrance. Heat billowed forth from the top, and spewed smoke and gasses. She lit a blue flare and let it trail behind her.

Those below her spotted the signal and flew up to meet her. Great winged beasts, some larger than her friends and others not. While her friends were still maturing into adults, these ones were fully grown, and it showed in their sheer mass, and the eco power that emanated from them. Another ability Neo seemed to give her was being able to sense eco energy in beings and objects.

Their formation betrayed them to be a scouting party, not heavily armed. They escorted her down into the mountain with no air chatter, but they yipped and chattered to each other in something that neither their language nor hers. They called it air language, the chatter that went on mid-flight.

They landed on a small outcropping halfway down the inner tube. She left the glider to cool it's engine as two of the party of six stayed to escort her into the tribe grounds proper. The larger one of the two, but not the largest of the party, changed his form into something resembling an elf. He retained some of his natural characteristics, such as his wings and tail. The inhuman look about his face, his eyes too large to be natural and with pupils so large. His ears as well, while taking on the long shape of an elf's remained also slightly cone shaped near the base. He retained some of the armor he had been wearing in his real form, the brown chest plate and shoulder guards as well as the greaves wrapped around his ankles. His feet were bare, and he wore a torn pair of pants for modesty.

He bowed shallowly to her. "Reichi, good evening."

"Good evening, Tarek. I am looking for the Kit and Kovu."

"Of course," he chimed, cheerful. His accent was thicker than the siblings, as he had had less practice with the elven language. He was the air commander, as well as third in command.

He led her silently along the winding path down the tube, to where the lava pit was. It was hot down here, but far from uncomfortable. The chamber at the bottom of the tube was massive and cavernous. Water and light eco trickled down the far walls, creating a cool air that dampened the magma on the center floor. Plant life grew in the crevices and small pigrats scurried among the foliage. The entire floor around the magma pit was covered in Hora Quan. Young and old, hunter and warrior, all sitting side by side as one big family.

Many saw her and greeted the two as they came into the pit. She was well known here, and the positive greetings made her feel warm inside. Kovu and Kitala were near the far wall, sitting on an uprising in the rock. They were both laying casually on their sides, tails flicking lazily like cats.

As soon as the male saw her he was on his paws and loping smoothly from the rock to the same level as her. He only needed two bounds to reach her, turning himself humanoid in the transition between the first and second. He met her and embraced her warmly. Kit was beside her in an instant as well. The stood for a long time, simply embracing each other.

Being here, with her friends, Zara finally had the courage to let her mother go, and consider her future again, as Queen of Spargus.

**XXX**

_A/N: I love Tarek, he's one of my favorite OC's in this verse. This isn't really an introduction to him all that much, seeing as he has one line, but he comes back as a main character in the third part. Also, from now on, conversations with Neo will be less poem-like, and more like dialogue._

_I want to thank everyone for the reviews I'm starting to get. They make me feel so happy inside that my hard work with these characters has paid off, even a little. I don't like flat characters, so I try to get mine to be interesting. Especially when an entire story is based around them._

_Quite a bit of time passed in the writing of this chapter from number six, and it shows in the style change. This was before the second revamp, so it still sucks and I still have to connect story points because I didn't do it correctly the first time, but it's still a little better._

_Let me know what you think, I'll see you all next week, and don't forget that I have a Twitter account that gives additional information and that you can expect answers to your questions._


	8. Chapter 8

**The Forgotten Memory Saga**

_**The Hidden Library**_

**Chapter 8**

"Lieutenant Lel," Ashelin's call reached the shorter man down the hall. He stopped and turned to face his commanding officer with polite respect.

The man was a formidable opponent, as few in the guard had beat him in sparring matches, and those that did boasted arrogantly. He was short, but stout. Quiet and polite, but had the charisma of a leader. She could not think of any other type of man Damas would send into the field.

He bowed his head as she got close enough. "Is there something you need, Commander Ashelin?"

She looked behind them to make sure that the hall was derelict. She spun around and flung him into the wall, her dagger coming from its sheath and kissing the skin on his exposed neck. He growled and tried to heave her off of him, but she held leverage against the wall, and he was not going anywhere.

"What do you want?" He hissed.

"Tell me the truth, spy. You are working for Damas?"

He snarled but said nothing. She felt him fumbling for his weapon. She reached down with her free arm, bracing her shoulder into his and drew his pistol from its sheath. She flung it down the hall where is clattered against a wall.

"Tell me the truth, or I'll expose you and all of the others."

He betrayed nothing, meeting her stare head on. He seemed to lose all emotion, stopped struggling. He simply stared, as if waiting.

She drew blood on his throat. "Does Damas want the city back?"

"No."

"Does he plan to kill my father?"

"No."

"What does he want?"

"No."

"No _what_?"

"I will tell you nothing."

She growled. "I want to help you," she was not down to pleading yet, but she had to switch tactics.

He blinked at her, but remained apathetic. "We want nothing from you, Havenite."

"I want to help my friend."

This finally brought a much desired reaction. "Friend?" He snorted in disbelief.

"Zara was my friend. Salina was like a mother to me. If anything, I should be grateful to everything Damas has done for me." She let him go and was relieved when he did not run or move to attack her. He simply stood there. The apathy remained, but there was sadness in his violet eyes.

"Salina is dead."

"I know. Zara told me."

He nodded, but she could tell he had not known that last bit of information.

"I do not plan to attack your people. I don't even know where they are."

He nodded again. "I fear the Baron does," he stated.

Ashelin almost sighed in relief. He was starting to see that she was telling the truth.

"I will try to send you information when I can."

"Your help is appreciated. How many of the others have you found?"

"Non. Just you so far."

"Don't keep looking. It is bad enough you've exposed me."

She rolled her eyes, but complied. She knew the rules of sleeper agents.

"One more thing, though."

"What?"

"Someone is using Soloman's old DNA codes to get back into the city."

"Yes, we all use codes of people that had died," he replied to the implied question. "I'm sorry Ashelin."

She kept a straight face, even when she felt her heart sink. "Just curious."

She turned to leave, walking down the hall. She heard the familiar click of his helmet latch clicking but was stopped when he cleared his throat. "I can't do that to you," he sighed forlornly. "He's alive. Don't go chasing after him, or he'll kill me for telling you."

With that he marched away on fast, sharp strides. Ashelin could not stop the small smile that spread across her lips, or dampen the joy that bubbled up from her heart.

/-/-/

The soft breeze was cooling, and fluttered the wind chimes along her ceiling. Their soft music usually lulled her to sleep on nights like this. She was restless, and could not figure out why.

So Zara sat in her bed, staring off into the darkness that clung to her ceiling like a ghost.

She had finally let her mother go. It had taken too long, but she had done it. But now that her guilt was no longer weighing down on her heart and mind, a new kind had surfaced.

She had killed people. Both wastelander and Krimzon guard alike, she had not been prejudice. It killed her on the inside, knowing that families had lost and mourned all because of her. She had no right to hold their lives in her hand and decide to take it away. No matter how many people told her it was an accident, she knew the truth. She could have stopped, she could have died, and saved so many others. But she had been scared, and she had wanted to survive.

_She wanted you to survive._

She rolled over under the blankets, hoping to get away from her thoughts.

_Perhaps if you walk around._

She nodded to the voice only she could hear, pulling back the blankets and letting the cold air wash over her. It was refreshing and as she placed her feet on the sandstone tile, a cold jolt ran up her body.

She walked the palace, the empty halls echoed her thoughts back to her, but here they seemed kinder.

_Salina used to walk these halls. She used to find solace in these walls._

"I wish she had been here to teach me."

_I will teach you._ A soft buzzing, like a sigh in the night air.

She returned to her room, so the gentle sound of the wind chimes and the sea crashing below. She moved to her window, looking down on the city. The half-moon shone some light on the streets. However late the hour was, there was always people walking the streets. The night was sometimes the only time to do certain tasks that the sun prevented.

She leaned a little farther out the window, looking out at the ocean. The drop was not fatal. She should know, she had fallen enough times.

A little to the right on the window was a series of rungs plastered into the tower wall. They lead up and out of sight in the arch of the building. She climbed out the window, holding her breath as she transferred her weight from the window sill to the lowest rung. Just because she did it all the time did not make it any less frightening.

She moved up the rungs until they ended when the roof flattened out, just below the signal fire. She could feel it's warmth from this proximity and she admittedly felt comforted near it, like it would protect her from the world.

She stared off across the ocean. Tonight was not clear enough, but she knew where Haven was. She did not ever need to be told.

_Your mother's study… Is it open?_

She did not answer, but turned from the ocean and started walking along the roof. It was slightly curved downward here, but flat enough that she was able to keep her balance flawlessly. She came to a wooden hatch in the carved sandstone. She dropped through it, and was plunged into darkness.

She had been expecting this. No one had been in here since the queen had died. No one to light up the small library of books, so it remained hidden in darkness. Zara did not mind, no one would find them if they were in darkness.

But they were not. She gasped in surprise as a soft pulsing glow light up the ancient hieroglyphs in a distinctive blue glow. It struck a cord with her, like the letter in the temple that lit up when you channeled eco through the chambers.

It pulsed and dimmed, and pulsed again. In time with her heart beat, she noticed with sudden trepidation. What was this? Why had this never happened before? Why was it happening now?

_Because this is your study now._

She swallowed the lump in her throat, and walked forward. The lights behind her died, and the light in front of her grew longer. They followed her. She walked along the corridor, lined with books. The light seeped out from between the pages it seemed. She was not sure if they came from the books themselves or the wall behind them.

She came into the main, circular room. She reached for the light on the far wall. It would light the entire corridor behind her as well.

_Wait._

She hesitated and all the lights drained from the room and converged to a single pattern across the center floor. She was not sure what possessed her, but she moved from where she stood and stepped on the center.

Only a few seconds later she fell through a hole that seemed to just wink into existence. She plunged down where the lights did not follow her. She could not tell the shape of the tube, only that the walls were as smooth as glass. No friction, no hand holds, absolutely no way to stop her decent.

She called upon Neo to help her but he only laughed and retreated to where she could not touch him.

Then she was not falling any more. It was like a dream almost, like all of a sudden she just jumped ahead a couple of seconds. She was under water, and it was cold. It seeped through her clothes in an instant, and she had to fight for the surface.

The sight that greeted her when she got there stunned the cold from her body. Water and light eco dripped down from the walls, intertwining and forming a single body. They cascaded down into the water where she floated. There was light coming from above her, moon light and the sounds of feet and conversation. She looked skyward and saw the funnel she came through but also the grate. It took her only a second to know where she was. She was in the well under the city.

/-/-/

"Holy Metal Mother!" Kovu spun in a slow circle, laughing a little when his voice echoed. He grinned at the elf. "This is awesome!"

Kitala was silent, just staring awe at the whole scene before her. It had been beautiful in the moonlight, but now that sunlight was streaming in from the grate, the whole chamber could be seen. It was much bigger then she had originally thought, but not less beautiful.

Zara sighed. She felt safe here. She was not sure if it was the eco, or the secrecy, or even the content way Neo buzzed and cooed when they down here. He was not vindictive here, just a quiet presence.

"How did you find this?" Kovu turned toward her, his eyes lit up in elation.

"Stumbled upon it the other night."

"Literally?"

She nodded.

"We should make this our secret hideout!" Kit finally found her voice.

Zara smiled and nodded again. If she could get the sibling here for this then it would be whatever they wanted it to be.

/-/-/

The world collapsed around her. The pre-dawn darkness burned red and yellow and roared. She leaped from her bed and across the sandstone floor to her window. The city burned, craters had been scoured across the ground. They smoked and burned.

The streets were awash with activity. Great swarms of people. The city was battle ready, even at the first surprise attack. The turret was already being manned, someone shooting the man sized bullets in big flares of fire out to sea. Zara could not see who they were shooting at, and she was pretty sure that the shooter did not know either.

He redirected his shots suddenly but an explosion still rocked the palace. Zara was away from the window in an instant, pulling on her armor and boots. She ran from her room as another shell grounded inside the city. She could hear explosions off shore, but there must have been a lot of them if Kleiver could not keep the tide back.

She ran down the halls back into the palace proper. There was a mixture of servants and soldiers among the throng around the throne room, and its halls. Zara knew better then think that the servants were untrained. Everyone had to earn their right to remain, and that meant you had to be able to defend your city.

There was a soldier among them, his booming voice echoing around the room. The air commander, and without Sig, her father's second in command.

"Zeljeko!" She called across the throng. He spotted her and reached his hand out to pull her closer to him.

"Princess!"

"Where is my father?"

"He's in the armory. It's Haven, they've attacked us."

**XXX**

_We're almost done. Just three more chapters to go. By the way, Neo doesn't have motives. He takes pleasure in the here and now and never thinks about the future. So in case you're wondering what he's planning, don't. He doesn't plan anything. Dark Jak and Neo are not directly related either. Neo is neutral eco. He's a big fat buffer between dark and light eco. Because all eco is the essence of the precursors, it has kept some semblance of sentience. This is only shown when it is in concentrated amounts and linked to another mind. Dark Jak and Light Jak, and Neo are examples of this. Neutral eco is so rare and unstable that it automatically breaks apart unless it is residing inside someone with a certain genetic make-up. Not the Mar bloodline, but Salina's bloodline and only passes down through the females in the family. It's explained later in the story in more depth but I thought you guys could use some clarification._


	9. Chapter 9

**The Forgotten Memory Saga**

_**The Hidden Library**_

**Chapter 9**

The city was in battle mode. Organized chaos was the only way to describe it. So many people doing so many tasks, but all in union and all something important. They were protecting their city.

The attack had started early. In the predawn darkness, the first bomb was thrown across the sea. The battle ships that had taken up new residence off the coast flew dark, guided by the very light that brought lost allies back to safety.

Spargus refused to extinguish it. As long as it burned, the city was not lost.

Zara was moving too quickly to be caught up in the action happening on the sea front. She weaved through the crowds with ease of practice and skill brought on by years of living in the danger of constant attack.

Never had they had a sea front attack. Spargus was a city of adaptive soldiers. They would learn to fight this new enemy, and they would survive.

The doors to the car port slid open as she approached. Here too, was there activity. Cars were being deployed out the gate, carrying heavy artillery to the turrets stationed outside the walls. Mother Sally was being pulled from her underground storage, artillery men already pushing carts of her shells from their hiding places. Gliders were also being sent out. Zeljeko was on the comm. frequency, being channeled from monk's temple to be heard across all layers. Gliders were carrying a mixture of drop bombs and Sally's trackers.

Damas was among the ground fleet, issuing orders. Kleiver had switched off from the turret and was organizing Sally's operators through a comm. frequency of his own. Zara made eye contact with her father, and all previous ire she held dropped for the one purpose of protecting their city.

She climbed the tower to the glider port. Zeljeko's sister, Vieri, was giving out secondary orders and reporting to her brother the current situation. She waved Zara down, pushing her toward her glider, which was already warmed up.

Someone was already waiting to place the drop bomb in the under holster when she revved it off the ground. The glider wobbled slightly as the load boy slid it in the leather holster and backed away, giving her thumbs up.

She shot off and away, flying over to the ensuing battle. The new gunman manning the turret was doing an excellent job at keeping shells at bay. The palace tower below the signal fire was smoking, a large crater blown into the side. Gliders swarmed the sky like flocks of angry birds. A flare went up behind her, lighting the red sky blue for an instant. Gliders dove away from the fights, flying back over the city as the high pitched whistle of Sally's artillery shell came rocketing through the air toward the naval fleet. It met head on with one of the artillery ships, cutting it in half, unheeding of the defensive measures they shot into the air upon see their own death. The ensuing explosions engulfed five other ships and left them critically wounded, their klaxons could be heard from the shore line.

The assault resumed as soon as the light of fire died, and the wounded retreated back toward open water.

"Neo, I need you."

She dropped her pay load, rocking the ship below her as another flare rose up from behind.

_You are going to use me as a weapon?_

"Yes."

_That might be dangerous, my dear._

"I don't care."

She rose up into the sky upon his instructions, breaking the cloud layer. She realized on an off-hand thought that the sun was still yet to rise.

_This could kill you._

"I don't care," she repeated.

She felt the first wave of his power engulf her in burning fire. She had not realized it would hurt so much. She fought the urge to cry out. She felt more then heard Neo chime something along the lines of an, 'I told you so.'

She fought to go higher, breathing in the cold, clear air, trying to keep her mind clear. It was clouded over, Neo's voice getting louder and louder in her mind, almost like he was yelling. She could not understand what he was saying.

Tendrils of light echoed around her. They were not any color, just light. Just energy. It burned inside her, catching her heart in icy claws. She gasped for breath, trying to keep the glider steady.

_Let go._

She stopped rising, watching the glider rocket heavenward while she stayed in limbo. There was another burst of energy and she was falling. No, not quite falling, she was moving too fast to be aided by more then just gravity.

She burst down from above the cloud layer, above the battle. Gliders where coming back from another Sally assault. They were clear of the immediate area. She shot straight down.

The last thing she remember was the deck of the ship coming up to meet her.

/-/-/

The glider swooped down toward the ocean surface. Silver light, bubbled up to the surface. The princess, in body but not in mind rose off the surface. The glider moved to catch her. Silver eyes examined the machine, a smile stretched across lips unnaturally. Silver wisps echoed through the air, whipping and lashing around, uncontained.

"Freedom is a two faced bitch if you're not careful, Kitty. I can't wait to see how long it takes to kill you."

/-/-/

Hours later, the Haven ships retreated, having exhausted their ammunition on the city. Spargus had survived, but the next assault was expected, and the city prepared. The brief pause in the battle was chance for her to get on her feet, but not enough for a breath. Wounded were being shuffled back to the relocated infirmary, cars and gliders were being repaired and reloaded. Mother Sally was being cleaned and prepared for the next assault.

Neo walked among the crowded streets. He was trying to avoid all officials. Just look like he was supposed to be doing something and people would leave him alone.

"Zara!"

Except for one. Damas had been the head of the throng. Seeming to move in tandem across the city with herself. Neo wondered briefly if he had been chasing her. She moved along as if she had not heard him, but a hand on her shoulder stopped her.

"Zara, I have been looking for you. I was worried…" He trailed off.

She did not turn to look at him. "I'm fine, father." She moved to pull away, but his hand tightened. "I am needed in the glider port."

"Zara," he suspected something was up. Neo cursed his luck. "Look at me."

"I have to go."

Damas pulled her closer, using sheer brawn to whip her body around to face him. He gasped, but at the same time did not look entirely surprised when he saw Neo in her eyes, and not his daughter.

"Rezing."

"Neo, actually."

Damas swallowed, looking entirely unhappy. "Let my daughter go."

The apparition smiled unnaturally. "She made a mistake and now she is paying for it."

He raised his hand and struck his daughter with the flat of his palm. She reeled away, cradling her face.

She took a long moment to look back to her father. They seemed to be in limbo against the rest of the flowing crowd. When she finally looked back at him, he was relieved to find her eyes the natural blue they were supposed to be.

"Thank you."

He hugged her to his side and started making a way through the crowd toward the makeshift infirmary.

"We should move the infirmary to the middle of the city when this is over," she mumbled. Damas held her closer, feeling her fading again.

"Keep going, Zara. Keep walking. You just need to rest."

"It hurts, Papa."

"I know."

/-/-/

Haven returned, as was expected. Spargus was prepared. The armed air patrols dropped their bombs down on the ships before they even came within shooting range. The ships were stronger than that, however.

The patrol returned to the city to reload as the city's alarms blared. The turret and it's brothers were armed within moments, more gliders had been ready to deploy as soon as the first sign of battle emerged.

The Haven navy hit the blast net that had been set up in their retreat, and they lost two ships there, their hulls belching flame and acrid smoke. People poured off their deck like bugs.

The adult squid that lived out past the island usually did not bother boats. Unless, of course those boats were spewing people. Great tentacles rose out of the surf, wrapping around the dying metal hulls. More boats were lost, and other turned to aid their comrades.

The gliders that had retreated from the first wave, came back, reloaded with more bomb drops and Sally trackers.

The battle raged on into the night. Great bombs and fire erupted across the city and ocean alike. This time, when Haven retreated, they limped away with no intention of returning.

Spargus celebrated their victory that night. Many had been lost, but they had remain free. Tonight they celebrated the battle won, but tomorrow they would prepare for the war that was sure to come.

**XXX**

_A/N: Just two more chapters after this. And it's still Saturday in some parts of the world! As I get ready for college, I'm moving some stuff around, so that's why today was late. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed._


	10. Chapter 10

**The Forgotten Memory Saga**

_**The Hidden Library**_

**Chapter 10**

She had to know. She had to find out, she had to be sure. It had been nearly two months since she had talked to Lel, or whatever his real name had been. She regretted not asking. He was nowhere to be found now. She was not entirely sure if he was hiding very well, or if he had left the city.

But that was not her concern now. Whether Lel was dead or alive, she did not care. What she did care about was her brother. She had not seen Soloman in nearly a year. The older of the Praxis sibling knew a lot about her father's plans. More than she could ever hope to.

He knew about the Dark Warrior Program long before it started to see any kind of results. He had seen too much, and it repulsed him. He had remembered more clearly than her what her father had been like before Lady Praxis had been killed. He was aware of the sharp change in her father, from the humble senator to the power hungry monster.

Soloman had run. He had disappeared into the desert without so much as a goodbye, chasing down a rumor. But someone was using his passcodes.

She wore standard armor today. She needed to remain incognito, and the mask and respirator of the lower ranking officers suited her needs well. She had been watching the city airlocks for a few days. Waiting. She found it interesting. Every passcode that was used to get in and out were from people that were supposedly dead. Unfortunately, all of the camera feeds had been destroyed. She knew it had been the underground's doing. The fledgling insurgency against her father was getting more and more clever every day.

Earlier that day, she had received an alarm that Soloman's passcode was being used. It had been several weeks since the last report and she had been getting a little worried. She was now out in the city. Under her guise, other guards paid her no mind, people gave her a wide berth, exchanging shifting glances. There were several suspicious men in the area. Some of them wore scarves to conceal their identities. They eyed all the men in red around the area. Surprisingly, that number was sparse. There was something going on here.

She had gotten word that the underground were known for using the warp gate in the power station. She was not surprised when she had learned this. Vin was spineless, but loyal. It did not shock to learn that he was loyal to the other side. She knew that every day he had his hand in the Baron's pet project, the further from him he pulled. It was not a surprise that he was helping the underground.

She was not about to turn him in, however. No, Vin knew her, liked her even. She could still use him like this. She waited in the hellcat at the bottom of the ramp. She watched at least three surveillance feeds from the console. There was nothing out of the ordinary now, but she knew that the ripples of rumors originated here. His pass code had gone through the gate about an hour ago. There was only one way he could come back through.

The connections were being scrambled. Hidden under layers of static. She did not know where he had gone to, or what he was doing, or even when he was coming back. If she had not been actively searching the frequencies, if she did not know who specifically she was searching for, she would have never found him. Blended in with the millions of other people and pass codes and DNA keys that lived and swirled in the city's mainframe.

It did not tell her that the gate had been activated, but the camera feed switched at the arrival of two people. Two red headed men, one taller than the other. One with dreads, and the other in a million braids. One wore high ranked Krimzon Guard armor, and the other looked fit to travel for months in the desert. Similar to Zara's clothes, she realized. To anyone else, he would look like your common mercenary, or wastelander. She supposed he was the latter, but no one really knew just what that actually meant.

It did not change anything. He was alive. Standing in front of her. He worked for the underground, she knew that. So why was Commander Torn with him?

She trained the audio feed on them, knowing that Soloman would recognize her if she got close, even in her guise.

"Do you understand?" Soloman was saying, his tone hushed.

Torn was looking down at the metal between his feet. They had stopped walking, and stood root in place. Soloman waited for Torn to answer, patient. "There is no backing out after this, is there?" The young commander was nervous. Soloman nodded slowly, his eyes scanning the crowd briefly. Torn suddenly looked up, taking his eyes off his boot. "I'm in." His jaw set in determination. "Death to the Baron."

Soloman grinned, but hushed the younger man. "Not so loud, comrade." His eyes seemed to gravitate to her and she made a show of harking at another loitering civilian. She almost missed his next words. "We don't know what ears may be listening. I'll meet you at the specified place at the requested time."

Without many more words, the two men parted ways. The exchanged left Ashelin with butterflies in her chest. Her brother was alive, and Torn was a traitor.

/-/-/

At last there was a reprieve in the fire and war. The battles on the desert side of the city finally calmed after days of strife. The king sat upon his throne, his children beside him. He nursed a wounded shoulder, while Zara washed the boy with burnt hands. Too many hours spent behind the machine guns and the ringing in her ears refused to fade. She was tired but sleep was not an option. Not after Neo had so quickly betrayed her trust.

"Is this caused by Mother's death?" She asked her father, her voice stark against the silence.

He scowled. He had obviously been considering this very thought pattern. "It has been half a year, I doubt it." He sighed. "How is Mar?"

"Still as quiet as the day she died."

Damas growled. "He will, given time."

She only scowled. But she watched him, and he seemed to think of things but did not speak. "What?" She asked.

"I think we should begin preparing a retreat." He hated saying this, but without Salina, Zara was his only true council.

She balked. "Retreat? Papa, we can't!" She stood up from her crouch beside the pool. "Our soldiers are still strong and want to defend our city."

"I know." He pinched the bridge of his nose. He wished his queen were here, she always knew what to do. "But there may come a time when the benefits of fighting no longer outweigh that of retreat."

"So then what? We leave all of our hard work to the Havenites?"

He looked at her, a battle of silent wills raging between them. "If we manage to win this battle, at the cost of countless more people, Haven will always know where we are. Our safety has been compromised, Zara. We would be better off locating to someplace else. This desert is vast. I have sent enough food supplies to keep the city in the temple for a period where we can rebuild elsewhere."

"And Mother's library?"

"Those books are dangerous. If they fall into the hands of our enemies, I fear that we would face things much worse than bombs and gunfire. We should destroy them."

Horror struck through her. She could feel the thing in her mind churn. Without those books, she was defenseless against him. "No." Her voice wavered. Damas thought she was going to fall. "I'll think of a solution. Just give me a few more days." Her voice no longer held the strength it had moments ago.

"I don't know if we have a few days, Zara."

"Then give me a few hours."

He sighed, but closed his eyes. He was no longer going to argue. She had gotten what she wanted. She prayed it would be enough.

/-/-/

"Perhaps your father has the right idea," Kovu said into the silence, his voice echoing up around the chamber. The rock domed up into darkness, gentle light filtering in from the small grate in the ceiling.

Zara ignored him. She examined the room, knowing that she would need to expand it a little and make the entrance more of a fortress death trap then it already was.

"I understand that you want to hide them all here, but there isn't enough room," Kitala commented softly.

Zara nodded. "I know."

"And what about the ceiling? I know it only rains once a year, but wouldn't that be enough?"

"I'll fix the grate. Put blinders on it or something." Zara shrugged and looked at her friends. "Don't you two have any faith in me?" She teased.

"Plenty," Kovu remarked. "But there isn't enough room, Zara," he reiterated his sister, sounding like he was talking to a small child.

She crossed her arms, scanning her eyes up and down his form as if to ask if he was done. "Well, if you stand back, maybe I'll show you."

She stepped closer to the water, taking a deep breath and letting her arms fall to her sides. She called upon the creature inside of her. Neo churned into wakefulness, something akin to a laugh echoing from him.

_Manual labor…_

The eco flowed to her feet and over the floor. It leaked into the sea water and swirled until it glowed without a flaw or break. The water began to jump and sway, and finally recede as the rock rose up beneath it. The floor expanded and leveled out until the only water left was a small circle directly below the grate.

Neo withdrew once his job was completed. She did not feel it until his last tie to her snapped back into place. Exhaustion seemed to pummel her, all the blood rushing from her head. She swayed, falling to her knees. Kovu and Kitala were beside her in an instant.

"Does that answer your question?"

She tried to ignore the way Kovu's eyes darkened.

/-/-/

Ashelin really could not blame all the guards that complained about the armor. It really was uncomfortable. It rubbed in all the wrong places and chaffed terribly. It was annoying, but she ignored it. She moved quickly through the streets, trying to keep an eye on her target.

Something in her chest tightened every single time she saw him. And this was no different. Soloman was so close to her, she could reach out and touch him and make him real again. But something always held her back.

She did not know if it was out of respect for her older brother, or some ancient fear of him. Or even if it was his betrayal to Haven city, and the Dark Warrior Program.

Perhaps if Soloman was still running the DWP, instead of that sick fuck Erol, the first sounds out of the boy's mouth would have been words, not screams. She shook her head. This was not the time to be thinking of some nameless boy. She had to concentrate.

He was moving quickly through the streets of the slums, rolls of papers tucked safely under his arm. He looked like one of the crowd; dirty, scarred and scratched, unruly dreads and braids. Nothing but a common Havenite. However common, he still had a cautious step, and a paranoid flittering of emerald eyes. He was on alert, and Ashelin would have to be careful.

He moved in an inconsistent path. Veering off now and then, and disappearing in the late afternoon foot traffic. If she had been any other guard, she would have lost him hours ago. Slowly, he had meandered into a slum cul-de-sac with a back alley cutting away from the entrance.

She watched as he joined the semi-circle around the herald block. He stood there for a while, at least a cycle and a half. She knew then that he was suspicious. He was stalling. She was afraid to step closer and he kept his back to her. After a while, she realized he had been talking to someone. The man standing next to him suddenly leaned back and left the circle. He had been standing there for much longer, while most of the people that Soloman had walked up with had already dispersed.

Soloman left a few minutes later, moving toward the back alley. At the mouth he turned and looked back on the street. Ashelin turned on some invisible route line, hoping to make it look natural. When she turned back, Soloman was gone.

She cursed and started toward the alley again. She did not think to stop as she round the corner, even though she saw no one. It was empty, looking like every other street. Soft light glowed from boarded up windows and from beneath the crooked lines of doors. Other windows were dark, their glass broken and with no boards.

Something hit her from behind, throwing her roughly into the wall. She grunted as her arm was wrenched into an uncomfortable position. Calling for help would have been pointless, her attacker made sure of that by ripping out her comm. unit in her helmet. They were well out of sight of the street. It was her and the man. She prayed it was still Soloman.

"Who are you? Why are you following me?" He pushed his body against hers, trapping it completely against the wall. Her visor scrapped against the concrete, leaving marks in the cheap plastic.

She had a million things to say. His voice was rough, and deeper then she remember, but it was Soloman. She would never mistake him. She pulled herself together, willing herself not to stutter. "Soloman, you're alive."

She shoved harder against her. "Who are you, how do you know my name?"

"Ashelin," she struggled out against the compressing pressure of him.

He was away from her in an instant, pulling off her helmet as he went. A soft, sorrowful whisper filled her ears and crushed her heart beneath an iron boot. "Ashelin…?"

**XXX**

_There's just one more chapter after this, then we're on to part two. I hope you enjoyed._


	11. Chapter 11

**The Forgotten Memory Saga  
**_**The Hidden Library**_**  
****Chapter 11**

"What are you doing here?" He relinquished his grip, stepping away so that she could turn around and face him.

"Trying to find you!" She replied sternly.

"Well you found me," he snapped. "Now what?"

All the joy of finally seeing her brother after so long wore off quickly. It filled Ashelin with a hollow anger. She observed him. The way his emerald eyes flicked up and down and took her in, her face, her uniform. The way his hand flared and his lip curled. He was trying not to panic. The realization swung around and hit her in the face. He was not happy to see her; at least not like this.

The anger flared in her more that she had ever felt before. At first she thought she was angry with Soloman, but then she realized it was the Baron's fault. He was the reason that Soloman was afraid, and the silent boy screamed. He was the reason that Salina was dead and that Zara hated her and her city. He was the reason why Soloman left, and why the people of Haven were afraid of a color. He was the reason for everything, and probably more that she did not know about yet.

She shook under all her anger, and it beat down on her and gave her strength all at the same time. This was why Zara despised Haven and why Soloman stayed away.

She finally looked up and met his eyes. She knew that he could read her like a book, and she willed him to see the anger and resentment. He took a step away, his eyes narrowing. "Ashelin…" He warned.

"I've also come to help the Underground."

For a terrifying instant, she thought Soloman would shoot her. His face morphed into something murderous. It took her a moment to realize it was not directed at her. "So you finally see Father's actions for what they are."

She nodded. "His actions, you actions, Zara's, and Salina. Seeing it all happen… I was stupid before, but I get it now." It was amazing, even to her, how easily everything clicked into place. Now she felt purpose, and fiery conviction; whereas before she felt listless and confused.

"Lady Mar and the Queen?"

Ashelin had to suppress a shiver. She had to remember that the girl was a direct descendant of the great warrior Mar.

"You talked to her? What did she say to you?"

"She blamed me for…" Ashelin paused, fighting back the wave of anger and regret.

"For the death of the Queen," he finished for her.

"Is she… Really?"

He looked away. He was been carefully keeping his face neutral, but he seemed no longer capable. His eyes darkened and his fist clenched. Sorrow and anger flitted across his features. She was almost surprised. She had not really stopped to think that he would loyal to them, to that family. She never really stopped to think he was an actual Spargan. It all clicked into place, more and more pieces of a massive puzzle. Pieces that she did not even realize she had. But they all fit together, and it all made sense. The picture was starting to show through the gaps. It was all she needed to know that she was doing the right thing.

"There is a shipment coming in from Hitt."

He looked up again in remote surprise. "What?"

"An ammo shipment. They're leaving it off the coast of dead town. But if there is one thing Hittites hate more than metal heads, it's the kg. They're leaving it unguarded for a few hours so to avoid having our men mingle with theirs."

"We could definitely use more ammo." He smiled at her. It was not quite sweet and it did not reach his eyes but it still filled her chest with warmth of his approval.

"Good, I'll be in contact. I'll give more information on it when I get it." She reached for her helmet, taking his from his hand.

He pulled her into an embrace before she could pull it on. She returned it, relishing in the warmth and safety, and simply knowing he was alive. After a moment, he grunted and pulled away. "Do me a favor, little sister. Never wear that again."

She laughed lightly, feeling whatever tension that was still left between them melt away. She walked away from the meeting with a new purpose in her stride.

/-/-/

Zara sighed heavily and was forced to sit down. Exhaustion hung on her like lead weights, dragging her down to the floor. She lay down on the cool rock and waited for the air to return to her lungs.

After a long time she pulled herself up off the ground. The door to the small underground room was simple, but required a certain skill set, one channelers and monks possessed. So only those worthy of being down here could see Salina's books. She was content with that.

She moved to the door, not needing to feel for the eco key. The door slid back and a dozen precursor platforms rose from the short pit. It wasn't that deep, but it funneled down into a tube that led directly to the lava chamber below the palace. If someone managed to blow the door off, the platforms would not raise, and they would have to make it down in the pit below. The darkness hid the steepness of the incline.

She hopped to the first one, then to the next, moving across them like stepping stones. She opened the door on the other side and stepped through into the empty study. All the books had been moved, all the relics and charms, and whatever else her mother had collected over the years. All of it was stored away in the underground chamber. She turned and did one last act on the door. The dark wood faded into the light tan of the sandstone, gone from sight. An illusion trick, bending the eco to show a different image then what was real.

She was exhausted now. The daunting task had drained her, having been using her eco powers for the majority of it. Now she was tired, and was well in her right to rest.

/-/-/

The great roar startled her into wakefulness. The walls shook and dust leaked down from the ceiling. She jumped from her bed and to the window, ignoring the sharp pain that lanced across her chest.

There were war ships just off the coast. They must have been cloaked or something, there had been no warning alarm, nothing. There was five, a moment later seven. Another moment, then entire fleet seemed to come in from some invisible fog bank.

But it did not matter how invisible they had been a moment ago. They were very much visible and equally so as real. They were terrifyingly close.

Zara watched in terror as the second shots flared through the air. They crashed into the city, shattering buildings and the streets and tearing everything apart. The ground under her pitched and heaved and she tore from the window, quickly donning her armor and boots.

She was down in the market in what felt like moments. She picked through the dead and dying, trying to carry at least some to safety in the chaos. Her glider was on it's way, she only had to hold out a few moments longer.

One of the torpedoes came in close but high, aimed off to the west. She watched it as it crashed into the palace light tower. The metal screeched, a sound that she could hear all the way down in the street. Many people stopped and watched the destruction of their beacon, the fire that never went out, that led them home even in the worst of sandstorms. The people watched it as is snapped in half like a match, the fire sputtering out as it fell. It tumbled across the roof of the palace and settled somewhere out of sight.

But it was as if Spargus was suddenly blind.

Hours felt like days, and the battle was long if not decisive. Spargus had finally lost. It was with many a broken pride that her people finally fled from the walls that had protected them for so long. Their people were scattered, some holed up in the temple complex, and other taking refuge in the Tribe's volcanoes strong hold. She had not heard from Kovu and Kitala, but she knew that they had their paws full anyway.

She flew over the remains of her city. Her fellow glider pilot, Vi, flew beside her, surveying the rubble. It still smoked in some places and nothing had been left unbroken. They found where the top half of the signal fire tower had fallen, half submerged in the lava pit behind the throne room.

Her city was gone, no more than a smoking pile of broken stone. First they had taken her mother, and now they destroyed her city. She would make them pay for what they did, even if it was the last thing she did.

/-/-/

Damas did not like this. He had no choice. Zara would have forced him to agree no matter what he did. So now she stood on the remains of the turret tower. She was going to create an illusion. He prayed to the precursors that she was not about to kill herself. Seem assured him that it was for the best. She knew what she was doing, after all. He prayed anyway, if only to stop his hair from falling out.

She looked like her mother, standing above him, the sun shining down, the waves crashing below. He fought down the sadness that welled up in his chest and threatened to crash him to ground again.

Zara was feeling something completely different. She was not afraid, nor was she sad. She simply was. The broken city splayed out in front of her. She took in the view, of the brokenness, and her people, standing and watching her.

She felt Neo rise, his power like a tide. It raised and ebbed, stronger and faster with each stroke. It came from some deep place and he seemed to hum as he released it. It coursed through her, her limbs, her blood, her mind, her very existence. She fought down the scream, her skin felt like it had been caught on fire. No, it was not her skin. It felt like she was burning alive from the inside.

But she watched, and she manipulated. The first wave shot out across the city, almost like taking a picture. The second wave passed and the illusion began to take form, solidifying the ruined city forever in the minds of her enemies. The third made it forever real. The fourth made her people immune. By the fifth she shook in her effort to remain standing, to not cry, to not fall.

By the sixth, the illusion was in place. Gravity swallowed her like a mother reaching for her long lost child. The people cheered in triumph. They would be safe until they were ready to strike again. She fell from the spire, and her father rushed to catch her.

She saw nothing, felt nothing. She could only hear him. Hear the almost sadness in his churning. _You should have listened. Don't you feel it? The pain? You are poisoned The first was just start, and now you let me in again. You are a foolish child. I tested you and now we both know. You are dying._

**XXX**

_A/N: That's the end of part one. I'm currently working on part two but it's still a few weeks behind. I hope you enjoyed and I'll see you all again soon!_


End file.
